Obama: "Why Not Pay Half Price?"

(AP)

President Obama was asked at his primetime press conference Wednesday night if non-wealthy Americans are going to have to give anything up in the final version of his health care reform effort.

"They're going to have to give up paying for things that don't make them healthier," he said. "And I -- speaking as an American, I think that's the kind of change you want."

The president went on to say that there is presently insufficient coordination between hospitals and doctors, which he said are wasting money by not communicating when it comes to things like sharing test results. He said those types of inefficiencies are raising premiums.

Mr. Obama went on to say that people should start paying lower prices for comparable medication.

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"If there's a blue pill and a red pill, and the blue pill is half the price of the red pill and works just as well, why not pay half price for the thing that's going to make you well?" he asked. (The reference to the blue vs. red pill no doubt reminded some viewers of the 1999 film "The Matrix.")

The president said "the system right now doesn't incentivize" paying less, adding that doctors, hospitals and patients are going to need "to be more discriminating consumers."

"But I think that's a good thing, because ultimately we can't afford this," he continued. "We just can't afford what we're doing right now."

He then addressed the question of the potential impact on the deficit and national debt of health care reform. The president has said he will not sign a bill that would increase the deficit.

Mr. Obama said the argument that the government should not be spending money at a time when it has already given out major bailouts and many Americans are cutting back "has been used effectively by people who don't want to change health care to suggest that somehow this is one more government program."

He said that waste in the system must be eliminated in order to address the deficit, $1.3 trillion of which, he pointed out, he inherited.

"So to all -- everybody who's out there who has been ginned about this idea that the Obama administration wants to spend and spend and spend, the fact of the matter is, is that we inherited an enormous deficit, enormous long-term debt projections," he said.

"We have not reduced it as much as we need to and as I'd like to," added Mr. Obama. "But health care reform is not going to add to that deficit. It's designed to lower it. That's part of the reason why it's so important to do, and to do now."

More Coverage of Obama's Press Conference:

Obama: Changes Will Make People Healthier

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Obama: Banks Will Act Recklessly Without Reform

Bob Schieffer: Obama Trying to Take Control

Reality Check: Do Obama's Health Care Claims Hold Up?

Jindal Pans Obama's "Marketing" of Health Plan?

Obama's "Stupid" Comment Disappoints Cop

More Video: Opening Statement On Professor Gates Sacrifices For Healthcare Reform? Politics of Medicare Instant Analysis from Bob Schieffer and Nancy Cordes

[cryptogondotcom]

alphaa10000 was right in his earlier post when he said the GOP has you all fooled that they are exercising fiscal guardianship; isn't this clear to "conservatives" when they consider how much larger government, and debt, grew, compared to earlier administrations? Alphaa10000 seems like a very intelligent individual. Which is why I wonder how he falls for the other side's argument.

There is no "struggle" here -- at the higher levels where new policy will be approved; where the orders issue to tell most representatives which way they are required to vote, here the outlines of what they want are already decided. And it is likely to be that which gives a central authority more control over your lives, your choices, and limits your freedom. And it is likely to be that which preserves the interests of large international banks.

Obama reads a teleprompter very well, and was obviously delivering an "in your face" joke -- on YOU -- from his handlers, with his thinly veiled allusion to taking the blue pill. Pretend that the interests of the "right" are served by the GOP or that those of "left" are served by Obama; yes, take the blue pill in this way, and when they compromise you will wake up in your bed and see whichever illusion you chose sustained.

Don't take the red pill though, because it costs far more than twice as much. It will cost you your comfortable world-view, because you will wake up and see that this issue is already decided, and while you were asleep they purloined $US 24 Trillion, so far (Bloomberg, MSNBC) to "bailout" select chosen banks. Which is an amount that renders the whole health-care discussion a squabble over loose pennies. An amount that redefines itself, it's own manufactured $24 T, to be much less. An amount that redefines the value of our currency downward, so far downward that within the space of a couple of years your life savings won't buy you lunch.

Do you get it? Our monetary system is undergoing ctrl-alt-delete, and when it reboots we all start fresh, under government care, and as economic slaves.

[tmittelstaed]

Look, I'm a Democrat and I'm also for changes in the health care system but even I know that the President's speech is a load of rubbish and just designed to attempt to gander support, by using simple and easy explanations for a very complex health plan (which I am in favor of passing, by the way)

One of the biggest problems with the health care system right now is that it is IMPOSSIBLE to do any comparison shopping! I'm dead serious - the next time you have to have even a minor surgery or outpatient thing done, I CHALLENGE you to call around to different doctors and hospitals and get quotes in advance. You can't do it. There is absolutely no way to get pricing in advance - the hospitals won't give it to you, the doctors won't give it to you, the test labs won't give it to you. They all will say the same thing - that they can't tell you the price in advance because until they bill, they won't know how much your health insurance will pay, or how much your health insurance will disallow.

So, this idea of comparison shopping is idiotic. It can't be done. The ONLY people who can actually comparison shop are the health insurance companies. And even they have problems because when they call a doctor and ask what his fee is, if he wants them to list him as a preferred provider, he's going to underbid his competition - and charge different prices to different patients that are under different insurance companies. So there isn't even any way of establishing what ONE doctor is going to charge his own patients for the same procedure, let alone what different doctors will!!! It is hugely a game of guessing by the insurers and the doctors. The idea that the patient who's going to foot the bill can possibly find out anything is crazy.

The ONLY thing a patient can do is shop around for the best pricing/benefits from different insurance companies.

The reason we need a single-payer health system in this country is that it will effectively regulate the prices among all doctors to the same amounts. Doctors that run efficient practices will make money, doctors that run inefficient practices won't. Health insurance companies will then all have the same fixed rates that they pay the doctors, so the health insurers who are run efficiently - and not losing their money in stuff like subprime loan investment packages (please don't tell me your not aware insurance companies do this, what do you think AIG was) will make a profit, and insurers that are run inefficiently and making risky and speculative investments will go out of business.

Right now, there is NO incentive in the health care system to be competitive. Why would there be? The customers can't shop around in advance of purchase.

[sjc_1]

The President was making the point that the drug that does the best job at the best price should be selected, not some expensive drug with side effects that ads and sales people are promoting.

We are bombarded with drug ads every night on the network news programs. 10 out of every 30 minutes of network news is ads and a LOT of them are for drugs.

This is a way of getting the consumer to do the pushing for the prescription. People are being manipulated every time they watch those ads and few are aware of it. We need to be sure that the doctor is prescribing the medication that we need and not one that will score points with the drug companies.

[1notrub11]

Half price - half the care, it doesn't actually matter I think.

The solution is: everyone gets the same health care coverage opportunities and price - including Mr. President and the entire contigent of US legislators. We all get the same thing, whadda ya say?

He has already implied the answer to that is NO.

[mnamolina]

This is what gov't run education gives us; stupid people who believe, because a person makes more money than they, that they are somehow entitled to the wealthier person's money. "A gov't big enough to provide everything you need is big enough to take it all away."

[1notrub11]

Agreed.
If your goal is to "balance" things, then work to balance opportunities for one to better themselves and achieve - but don't "steal" from one to "give" to the other. Such actions only undermine responsibility assumption.
Right now, I don't make enough $ to more than get by. But you don't see me avoiding paying taxes on what I do make to support systems that I use, along with others in society. However, I will gripe if my income rises, if you think I should pay a significantly higher fraction simply because I make more money than another person. I worked a lifetime to achieve that situation, as much as anyone else has for theirs.
You frequently hear people use the phrase: "a person's fair share" when it comes to returning something to the system, but notice it's never with a definition. I think that is because when they actually look at it, it is embarrassing and exposes their unjustified "greed".

[yesnonoyes]

hmm that whole is just silly when you look up facts. US uses 16% gdp and has 20% of people without healthcare while other developed nations manage to take care all citizens same time as they use 5-8% less gdp. So already you are paying for air. Doesent that tell something about your current system?

[jasarack1]

Thank goodness we finally have a president who is willing and able to tackle our dysfunctional healthcare system. Obviously, the hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and healthcare suppliers are working again to undermine this necessary change for the positive.
It seems incredible to me that Republicans are speaking self-righteously about Obama spending money on healthcare after Republican presidents from Reagan to Bush II have built a deficit of over 11 trillion dollars through their borrow and spend policies of the last 28 years. Yes, and almost 2 trillion dollars in tax breaks for the wealthy, but not enough money for healthcare for 46 million Americans!

[jasarack1]

Thank goodness we finally have a president who is willing and able to tackle our dysfunctional healthcare system. Obviously, the hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and healthcare suppliers are working again to undermine this necessary change for the positive.
It seems incredible to me that Republicans are speaking self-righteously about Obama spending money on healthcare after Republican presidents from Reagan to Bush II have built a deficit of over 11 trillion dollars through their borrow and spend policies of the last 28 years. Yes, and almost 2 trillion dollars in tax breaks for the wealthy, but not enough money for healthcare for 46 million Americans!

[thusspokezara]

Those greedy Park Avenue doctors must be forced to take public insurance.

[mnamolina]

Our family are those people Obama is talking about that are uninsured because we can't afford it. Health care is not a function of our federal gov't under the Constitution. I sure wish Mr. Obama would get his hands out of our family's pockets.

[tmittelstaed]

Sorry, but when people like your uninsured family get sick, and I mean really sick, you end up in the emergency room and then because you have no insurance and can only afford to make a token payment, and the hospital writes the rest of it off, the hospital has to pay for you - and all the rest of us who are insured see our medical bills go sky-high, because the hospital has to jack our rates way up to pay for your care.

So, I think that the LEAST you can do is make some ongoing contribution in your taxes.

[hawksprings]

What sane, honest person actually believes that Obama and his government will make the delivery of health care cheaper?

If Obama succeeds, we will all suffer.

[dennisall77]

We ALL suffer reading your inane comments...

[bajajohn1]

Maybe you will die without the Obama health care reform being contemplated. Or maybe you can borrow from a rich uncle.